Category Archives: Treasures from the Archives

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Writer’s Block

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I asked Chloe to provide a poem for tonight’s blog entry. Because I’m tired and don’t have any ideas. You’d think that with kids like Chloe and Sophie, I’d always have ideas.

I actually haven’t seen much of them this week. Been getting home late – social engagements and hair appointment. You know, it’s the holidays. Places to go, people to see. And they’re staying at Grammy’s this weekend, enabling the hubby and me to go out for my birthday dinner.
Only problem there is that he couldn’t get a reservation at any of his preferred choices. How crazy is that? Sure, we could eat dinner at 5 pm (but last I checked we don’t live in early-bird special Florida) or at 10 pm (last I checked we don’t live in Spain either) at these hotspots, but really? No reservations? In a crippling recession?
So I don’t know where he’s taking me on Saturday. It’s going to be a surprise. Hope it’s good. Hope it’s a place we haven’t been to before. Maybe we’ll get to the movies also. That’d be nice. Especially since our holiday shopping is basically done and I have no desire to brave the mall.
My mom gave Chloe a shrinky-dinks kit for Hanukkah. Remember shrinky-dinks? They haven’t changed. Still need to bake in the oven for a couple of minutes. The girls love how they curl up and flatten out and get really, really small. Funny how these old toys are still fun for the new generation. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Happy Birthday

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I turned 41 today. And had a lovely day, I might add. Started off with Chloe and Sophie assaulting me in bed with lots of birthday cards. Homemade and store-bought. Sophie made me a card with lots of hearts and stickers. Chloe wrote: “A happy, happy birthday, a happy birthday to you. This is not a time to be crying boo-hoo. You’re the best mom EVER to set foot on this planet (not to mention this house). Love you xoxo.” Really, what can possibly beat hearts, stickers and poems?

And to top it all off, it was a day without work (BlackBerry e-mails notwithstanding). Ranks right up there among the best birthday presents. Kind of makes me wish my birthday was every day of the year.

I then spent the day at the mall with mom, shopping, having lunch and going to see “Up in the Air” with George Clooney. Loved the movie. Bought gifts for the hubby and Sophie’s teachers. Got a few little stocking stuffers for the girls. Bought my birthday present (hubby couldn’t get it over the weekend because Sophie was sick with strep throat and bronchitis).
I love my family. They’re all I need. They make me feel rich and warm and full.

Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Home Economics, Part II

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In continuing the home economics theme I wrote about last week, Chloe had her first cake decorating class on Thursday. This is her creation (the teacher had already baked the cakes). Chloe took care of all the icing, and the little flower on top.

Not bad, for a first try. If she continues to enjoy it, I could theoretically save quite a bit of money by having her make all of our celebratory cakes. The more money we save, the more I can dream about retiring from my job. I’m counting the days until next summer. No more minivan car payment, no more preschool payment and potentially no more cake payments.
Tomorrow is my birthday. Will not be in the office tomorrow – staying far, far away so as to increase my chances of actually enjoying the fact that I’m now 41. Looking forward to going out to lunch with my mom, doing some shopping and going to the movies. George Clooney in “Up in the Air” – here we come.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

The Tree and the Menorah

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Papa bought the Christmas tree today. The girls are decorating it now. Sophie has decided to hang all of the red ball ornaments next to each other as a family. I call it “Sophie’s 4-Year Old Obsessive-Compulsive Corner (see photo).” Chloe’s a real pro at the decorating this year. She has a very clear idea in her head as to what ornament belongs where.

The tree topper this year is one of our “French” frogs. We’ve collected them over the years, and the one doing the honors this season is “Le Roi Grenouille” or the frog king. He’s quite regal looking, actually.
On the Hanukkah side, the menorah that I’ve had for a very long time is in the kitchen. It’s nothing fancy, but I have a soft spot for it. The problem is its size. It’s so small that the candles barely fit. I told Chloe that we’d get a bigger one for next year. It’s only fair, really. My menorah just can’t compete with the 6+ foot tall Christmas tree in the other room.
I confounded Chloe yesterday when I recited the prayer over the candles. She didn’t understand how I could possibly remember those words from Hebrew school so many years ago when I can barely remember what I need to buy at the supermarket. I tried to explain the concept of long-term versus short-term memory, but gave up when I saw her salivating over the present she was dying to open.
Happy holidays, everyone!
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Chloe Sews and Finds Synonyms

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Chloe decided that she wanted to make herself a new wallet. I gave her an old t-shirt, and she proceeded to sew and sew and sew. After a few missteps, she completed her project today. It’s a little rough around the edges, but she even sewed her initial onto the fabric.

She’s become all arts & craftsy. It’s quite amusing, actually. Especially since it took me way too long to remember where we kept the sewing kit.
In addition to finding a talent for home economics, Chloe has also decided to keep a notebook filled with synonyms. She’s spent the last few evenings compiling her wordlists, in order to “write more descriptively.” Yep, that’s what she wrote in her book. She’s started a new elective class at school called “Junior Great Books” and she loves it. And there are only three kids in the class, which I love. And if that class inspires her to write more, than I will be a very happy mommy.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Sophie’s Castle

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Sophie wanted a house. She tried making one herself, but was having a very difficult time getting the pillows to stand up straight. So she begged and pleaded for help. Papa was suffering from strep throat (how he got it, but not the girls – at least not for now – is beyond me), but he loves his daughters. Anything to keep them happy.

So he gathered himself up, and proceeded to build Sophie the best pillow castle ever. After attacks from the flank by her older sister, which caused some of the pillows to come crashing down, much to Sophie’s consternation, Papa dutifully made the necessary repairs.
Castle Sophie has survived four days now. There’s a truce in the household and Chloe has kept her paws off the construction. Every morning, Sophie checks on it, to make sure it’s structurally sound. I give it another couple of days at the most, if only because as long as this thing is up, we can’t sit down.
My Artists & Writers in Training

A Chloe Book Review

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Chloe has written a new book review.
This time, we sent an e-mail to the author, so that she could read the review too. We’re crossing fingers that Chloe gets a response! We’re also submitting it to our local bookstore and hope that they’ll publish it in their kids’ newsletter.For your reading enjoyment, here’s Chloe’s latest critique.
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A Review of One of My Favorite Tails: “The Tail of Emily Windsnap”
Ready for adventure and have a heart for mermaids? Even if you don’t, I think you’ll still like this book.¨The Tail of Emily Windsnap” is about a girl, Emily Windsnap, who becomes a “semi-mer,” which means that when she’s in the water she grows a tail and is a mermaid. And when she’s not in the water, she has two feet just like us. The reason she’s a semi-mer and not a regular person is because her dad, whom she does not know anything about, is a merman.Her mom is human. The reason Emily doesn’t know her dad or live with him is because Neptune, the king of the seas, made a law that a mermaid or merman cannot marry a human. Her dad was sent to jail because he married a human, Emily’s mom. Emily learns about her father and goes off to find him with her friend, Shona. Shona is her best friend and a mermaid. They met went Emily went off in the middle of the night to see what would happen when she went in the water. She swam far enough to the rock where Shona was sitting. They talked, had fun, and became friends before going off on their adventure to find Emily’s dad.
My opinion about the book is that it was great. The reason I think it was great is because there was so much detail that it felt like you were with Emily. Emily is a sympathetic, smart and brave character.
The book is crispy and crunchy like a favorite food that you can’t stop eating, even if you’re completely full. It’s a book that can entertain you for hours. And hours.
“The Tail of Emily Windsnap” is the first in a series that currently includes four books.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Sleepaway Camp?

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In an effort to help Chloe decide whether or not she’d like to spend a couple of weeks at sleepaway camp next summer, I sent away for a bunch of different camp catalogs. We started to receive them last week, and boy, how things have changed since I went to camp so many years ago. Eons ago. Eras ago.

Anyway, in addition to the activities that were popular even when I was a kid (e.g., tetherball, lakefront, arts & crafts), all of the camps now seem to offer enrichment programs that come closer to resembling Club Med than camp. Want to do circus arts? Check. Want to try out extreme trampoline jumping? Check. Want to attempt paintball? Check. Want to fly through the air with the greatest of ease on a flying trapeze? Check.
It’s absolutely insane. So crazy that even I was feeling nostalgic for camp when looking at the brochures with Chloe. And that’s saying a lot because while I tolerated camp, I never really LOVED camp.
We’ve received five brochures so far. And another interesting tidbit is that of the five camp directors, two are recovering lawyers. Just like me. I have absolutely no desire to become a camp director – let’s face it, I’m just not the camp type. But again – makes me wonder about the profession I chose for myself 12 years ago. From the beginning, I always rationalized the decision to go to law school by telling everyone who asked that having the degree would open up lots of doors. Directing sleepaway camps wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but hey, to each his own.
Frazzled Working Mom's Fleeting Moments (2007-2013)

Chloe’s Brilliant

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“Brilliant.” According to her teachers. “She’s well-rounded in all subjects.” These things I believe. She’s always been a smarty-pants.

“She’s mellow and easy-going.” This I do not believe. Two adjectives I’d never ever use to describe my daughter, unless she was abducted by aliens and came back as Chloe II.

That said, her teachers had nothing but praise for my big girl. The only bit of criticism, if one can call it that, is that during class she sometimes sneaks peeks at whatever book she happens to be reading that day. Horrible, I know.
Her math teacher was so impressed by her math skills that Chloe now has the responsibility (which she’s never given to a student) of updating the sunrise/sunset chart every week. It tracks the hours of daylight on a given day, down to the minute. It’s a pretty intricate graph, but apparently Chloe mastered it with ease.
We’re raising a brainiac. Let’s hope she still thinks being a brainiac is cool when she hits her teens.